Chapter 58
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 58
Chapter Title: Expanding the Clinic
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One Korean medicine doctor and two nursing assistants. Five days a week. No night shifts.
Up until now, I'd been running the clinic by taking all weekends off to keep costs to a minimum.
This setup was fine for pursuing work-life balance, but to maximize profits, we absolutely needed to operate seven days a week, including night hours.
And to run the clinic seven days a week, hiring more doctors and nursing assistants was essential.
Should I stick with the status quo, or take on the risk and grow bigger?
It was a crossroads.
My choice was obviously the latter.
"Everyone, I think it's time to upgrade our system. I'm planning to hire more doctors and staff and run the clinic seven days a week."
I gathered Seo Inae and Seol Yuhee and made the announcement.
"Oh, sounds good."
Seo Inae said.
When I first mentioned hiring more staff, she had tried to talk me out of it, citing profit and loss concerns. But now, the number of patients I saw each day was beyond what a typical Korean medicine doctor could handle easily.
Even averaging sixty or seventy patients a day, there were days when we exceeded a hundred.
"Wow, who's the new person joining us?"
Seol Yuhee just beamed innocently. Since this was her first long-term job, she thankfully didn't seem to mind working weekends.
"I haven't hired anyone yet. I want to set your schedules first and then find people to fill the remaining slots."
"Ahh."
Seol Yuhee said she preferred coming in early like before, and if possible, Saturday shifts over Sundays.
I could just adjust the schedule accordingly.
And then there was Seo Inae...
"I'll quit the convenience store. Make me full-time."
"...We're doing seven days a week, you know? How could I make you full-time?"
Weekdays from 7 to 8, weekends from 9 to 3.
Even subtracting lunch breaks on weekdays, that was seventy-two hours a week. Who could work that without a single day off?
Not even I... well, actually, I could manage it physically. But regardless of capability, I didn't want to.
"Quitting the convenience store and switching to part-time gigs elsewhere would keep my total hours about the same anyway."
"That won't fly legally."
"We can just fudge the records a bit..."
"No way!"
Seo Inae pouted and picked a schedule that maximized her hours and overtime pay within legal limits. She even volunteered for the early morning 7-to-9 a.m. shift and the afternoons and evenings, saying she could always pick up other work in between.
"This'll make it easier for you to hire people too, Director. No one wants to start at 7 a.m., so that's probably why recruiting has been tough."
Seo Inae... you are truly...
I've seen plenty of hardcore martial artists obsessed with training all day, but none ever left me this stunned.
"Alright. Let's go with that then."
I gratefully accepted the schedule she had marked up.
As she said, having the two of them cover the early mornings drastically lowered the hiring difficulty.
Resumes poured in several times more once we shifted the start time from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m.
"Phew."
Now, the only thing left was hiring a doctor.
A doctor's treatment style would have the biggest impact on patient numbers and revenue, so I had to be cautious.
Where should I look? Post on online communities? Or ask Overachiever Unnie to introduce some soon-to-graduate juniors?
As I pondered, a message came from Hwang Sanghun.
[Yeowon, how've you been?]
What was this about? We hadn't seen each other since running into each other at that wedding. He'd messaged once raving about how effective the meds were, but that was it.
[I'm doing great. How about you, Oppa? First year as a resident must be better than intern life, right?]
[Ah, didn't Seoyeong tell you? I finished my internship and left the hospital.]
I'd assumed no news meant he was settling in and focusing on training.
But Hwang Sanghun dropped a bombshell out of nowhere.
[What? Suddenly?]
[Haha, thanks to you, I mustered the courage to quit.]
...Quit? For real?
I thought he'd at least finish his residency no matter what.
That's when I remembered the confident words I'd tossed at him back then.
[So you're looking for a deputy director position now?]
[Yeah, haha. That's why I'm reaching out. Of course, if you're not ready to hire one right away, I can work somewhere else for a year or two first. Just checking before job hunting.]
He's coming? For real?
And he'd even wait a year or two if I couldn't hire him yet?
I'd thought Hwang Seoyeong might actually show up someday. She was close to me and had that rebellious streak.
I'd even secretly planned to get Jeong Inseong a job and run him on auto-hunt mode.
But Hwang Sanghun? I never imagined he'd toss aside the red carpet laid out by his grandpa and dad.
[I was just about to start recruiting anyway. Want to come?]
[Yeah.]
Hwang Sanghun replied curtly.
I asked for more details.
[When can you start?]
[Hmm... tomorrow? I'm still in Seoul, so I need to head down.]
Tomorrow? Even if he quit the hospital ahead of time, what about his place?
I couldn't fathom what was going through his head.
[Come down first then. Let's meet whenever suits you, tomorrow or the day after.]
[I'll take the earliest train.]
The next morning, Hwang Sanghun took the first train down to Busan.
It was a free weekend with no appointments, so I went to Busan Station to pick him up.
I wasn't planning to reject him in the interview, but I still needed to hear why he'd quit so suddenly and if he was serious about the job.
"Hey."
Hwang Sanghun stepped off the train with messy hair. His white dress shirt and black slacks were wrinkled.
He waved with the happiest smile I'd ever seen on him.
"Hi. But... you're empty-handed?"
He'd said he could start right away, so shouldn't he have packed at least some luggage? He had nothing—no suitcase, not even a handbag—just his phone.
"Yeah. Got kicked out penniless."
"...What?"
Suddenly? Kicked out? By whom?
"I took some time off after my internship, and I guess the professor heard about it late. He blew up, told me to return the house, car, clothes—everything—and get out."
"So when you said you quit, you meant you just left without telling anyone?"
"No need to. I'd already decided to quit, and Dad would've opposed it anyway."
True, but...
That was the kind of thing someone like me—who lives by whims—would do! Not model student Hwang Sanghun.
I'd predicted he'd drag it out for years without leaving the hospital or cutting family ties, but he'd handled it all in one go.
"When did this happen?"
"Yesterday. I ignored the call to a family event and stayed home, so Dad showed up."
"So you messaged me right after?!"
"Yep."
"Where'd you sleep last night?"
"Seoul Station."
I was floored.
He could've crashed at Seoyeong's place or a friend's for the night and come down leisurely. No need to show up with just a phone!
I could picture the scene.
His parents must've been furious that their obedient son had gone rogue. They probably thought he'd cave and move out of the house they gave him... but he had a backup plan.
"When can I start?"
The ridiculous part was that the plan was me.
I rubbed my throbbing temples and thought calmly.
"We need time to promote the schedule change and train the other staff, so earliest is a week from now."
"Cool, sounds good."
Hwang Sanghun said brightly.
"Let's at least grab breakfast while we talk."
We couldn't just stand at the station. I pointed to a nearby brunch cafe.
His next words made me reel again.
"Oh, but I have no money."
"...I'll buy it."
"Haha, thanks."
They'd even demanded he return his tuition savings? I'd have kept that and washed my mouth out before saying otherwise.
Hwang Sanghun's bank balance was zero. He'd even booked the KTX on credit.
Was it possible to have zero plan like this?
'On second thought, this is perfect for me.'
While he wolfed down his sandwich, I finished calculating.
As I'd thought before, he was S-grade deputy director material.
Handsome, so good first impressions.
Tall with broad shoulders, perfect for chiropractic treatments.
Social skills? No complaints there.
Top of his class for six years in med school, so unlike some, he wouldn't have forgotten everything. Plus, having completed his internship at a university hospital we collaborated with, he probably knew more about Western medicine than I did.
And as a bonus, broke and homeless?
This was a golden opportunity—no, perfect employee!
"I was just working on a revised schedule. We're adding night and weekend hours."
I showed him the Excel sheet I'd made for the nursing assistants' shifts on my phone.
"Oh, you really needed someone? Thank goodness. I was worried you'd make a spot just for me."
"No way."
"So with this schedule... weekdays 7 to 8, weekends 9 to 3?"
That was the total operating hours, but now we'd split treatment shifts between two people.
Mondays were busiest, so we'd need both. Saturdays were uncharted for us, but I'd heard they drew big crowds.
'Wednesdays and Thursdays are slower, so I'll do Mon-Wed-Fri-Sat, and give him Mon-Tue-Thu-Sat-Sun.'
In a flash, I hatched a scheme.
This was my chance to cut my days to four a week and stick him with five.
"Yes. Mon-Tue-Thu-Sat-Sun—if you could cover those, I'd be grateful. That okay?"
"Ah... five days?"
Hwang Sanghun stared at the schedule and asked again.
Was he unhappy about more days than me? If so, I'd gaslight him that it was standard!
"No need to go easy on me. Seven days is fine."
"...?"
What was this guy? Seo Inae version 2.0? He wanted to work that much?
"Ah, but legally we need one day off a week, right? Six days works too."
"Then six it is. Just take Wednesdays off."
I beamed.
A hardworking employee who rolls in like this deserved to be worked even harder to grow.
Before he could change his mind, I got him to the clinic right after brunch and stamped the contract.
About an hour later, we finalized the employment contract.
Thud!
I stamped it. Hwang Sanghun, who'd shown up empty-handed, just signed.
"Looking forward to working with you, Director."
Now that we were employer-employee, he suddenly switched to formal speech.
Hmm, seven years of casual talk felt weird now.
"Same here. You can go formal only during work hours and casual otherwise... actually, casual is fine with me?"
"Of course."
Hwang Sanghun nodded readily.
Then he hesitated, eyes darting, before speaking up again.
"Um, one more thing I wanted to ask."
Hm? A favor right after signing?
I frowned slightly.
"I'm flat broke, so could you advance me a week's pay? I need money for a sauna or something..."
Then he grinned and pointed to the treatment room.
"Just crash here. We've got ten beds."
Whoa, a job with room and board? Where else?
"On the clinic beds?"
It was a half-joking remark.
But Hwang Sanghun's reaction was unexpected.